Resources
Employment Attorney Organizations and Referral Services

The National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) is the only organization in the United States made up solely of lawyers who help individual workers in cases involving discrimination and other job-related issues. NELA provides support to these lawyers in defending the rights of employees against the greater resources of their employers.

Use NELA's Find a Lawyer directory to locate a NELA member in your area who might be able to help you if you have a work-related legal question or problem.

Some statewide affiliates of NELA also have online directories. Click on any dark blue state in the map below, or select any state from the drop-down menu, to see a directory of members of the NELA affiliate in that state.

State and Local Bar Association Attorney Referral Services

If there is not a NELA or NELA affiliate attorney listed for your city or state, and/or you are unsuccessful in obtaining counsel from the NELA attorneys listed, many state and local bar associations provide attorney referral services. These services will interview you and help diagnose your problems. If a lawyer can help with your problem, the service will provide you with a referral to a lawyer who has expertise in the subject matter of your legal problem. Generally the lawyer will meet with you for a nominal fee, and if further legal representation is needed, you and the lawyer then agree on the terms of representation. If your problem does not require a lawyer, the attorney referral service will provide information on other community resources that may be able to help.

A number of attorney listing services exist on the Internet. These services vary widely in number of participating attorneys, geographical coverage, cost, and quality of advice and representation given.

Remember that lawyers are licensed to practice on a state-by-state basis. If you are hiring a lawyer, make sure that he or she is licensed in your state (or the state where the case will be filed), by contacting your state's agency that licenses lawyers, generally known as the state bar association.

Below is a listing of attorney listing services provided by Workplace Fairness for information purposes only. Workplace Fairness has not independently reviewed or evaluated these services, and makes no specific representation as to their quality.

Lawyers.comThis free service from Martindale-Hubbell, the leading national directory of lawyers, is designed specifically for individuals and small businesses. It features "Find a Lawyer," a database of attorneys nationwide searchable by area of practice, geographical location, and other relevant characteristics, and "Ask a Lawyer," an interactive forum for submitting legal questions to an attorney.

AttorneyLocate.comThe AttorneyLocate directory makes it easy to find a lawyer or law firm for your legal advice needs, by providing links to law firm websites who have chosen to be listed. AttorneyLocate.com is endorsed by the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.

FindLaw Lawyer DirectoryThe West Legal Directory, the Internet's largest lawyer directory, is the exclusive directory of legal professionals on FindLaw, with search tools to help you locate legal professionals in your location, or by specific practice area.

My Employment Lawyer (MEL)MyEmploymentLawyer (MEL) is a network of employment lawyers across the United States who represent individual employees. MEL provides access to employment law attorneys online, as well as employment-law-related FAQ, forums and answer to legal questions. MEL was created by NELA member attorney Neil Klingshirn of Akron, Ohio.

WorkplaceLawyer.com: U.S. Employment LawyersThis is a nationwide listing of employment lawyers who have public websites featuring their law practices. Most attorneys listed are members of NELA and primarily represent employees. Participation on the list is free. WorkplaceLawyer.com was created by NELA member Ron Schwartz of Chicago, Illinois.

Workplace Fairness is a non-profit organization working to preserve and promote employee rights. This site provides comprehensive information about job rights and employment issues nationally and in all 50 states. It is for workers, employers, advocates, policymakers, journalists, and anyone else who wants to understand, protect, and strengthen workers’ rights.More about Workplace Fairness